


Positive Outcomes

by mistleto3



Category: K (Anime)
Genre: Fluff, Multi, Polyamory, Smut, k rarepair week 2017, past unrequited sarumi mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-04
Updated: 2017-06-11
Packaged: 2018-09-22 03:00:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9579506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mistleto3/pseuds/mistleto3
Summary: Mikoto and Tatara have been in love since forever, and Misaki finds himself in the unfortunate position of having a crush on both of them.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Tags will be updated as the fic progresses.  
> For [K Project Rarepair Week 2017](http://k-rarepair-week.tumblr.com/post/153527043065/the-final-prompts-have-been-decided-all-days), Day 1: Beginnings.  
> This fic takes place in the same universe as my other mikotatasaki fic: [Tease](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6667132)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter can also be found on [Tumblr. ](http://mistleto-3.tumblr.com/post/156825914174/positive-outcomes-part-1)

In Misaki’s eyes, the only positive outcome of Saruhiko’s defection from Homra was just how much his clan had rallied around him in his time of need. He was normally the sort of person who loathed to show weakness, who did his best to hide his pain behind either laughter or rage, whichever came easiest. But he could only keep it under wraps so much of the time, and the sting of betrayal didn’t relent when he no longer had the strength to hide it. He knew people noticed, he knew he was failing to keep his composure, and he’d expected his grief to be the butt of every joke exchanged between his fellow clansmen during their usual banter.

But it wasn’t. Even the guys he didn’t get along with quite so well eased up on their usual low-grade teasing, but even more heartening was the response of his friends. As soon as Rikio heard what had happened, the first words out of his mouth had been to ask if Misaki needed anything, if there was anything he could do for him. Izumo had even, for once, relaxed his strict policy on no underage drinking and offered him a beer. But the most supportive by far had been Tatara. He’d gone out of his way at every available moment to spend time with Misaki, to check in on him, to encourage him, to make sure if there was one thing he was certain of, it was that Tatara was there for him if he ever needed anything at all. The pair had ended up spending a lot of time together in the aftermath of Saruhiko’s betrayal, and Misaki was grateful for the distraction of his company, but also for the way his friend tried his damnedest to make sure Misaki knew he was cared about. The comfort went a long way, especially in the wake of the abandonment he’d felt.

But the thing he was the most grateful for was Tatara’s patience. No matter how long it took, no matter how many months the bitter aftertaste of the betrayal lingered at the back of Misaki’s throat, no matter how many times he texted him in the middle of the night, Tatara was unfailingly there for him, just as eager to help as he had been the moment he first heard that Saruhiko had left. His relentless optimism and unfaltering smile never failed to take the edge off the pain.

He wasn’t the only good thing to come out of all of this though - a pleasant side effect of all the time Misaki was spending with Tatara was that he was practically inseparable from Mikoto- the pair had been dating for what felt like forever, so being around Tatara usually meant his boyfriend would be somewhere nearby. Misaki had no objection to this; he’d always idolised his King, and having something of a monopoly on his time and attention (at least, compared to the other members of the clan) was a privilege to him. It was affirming to be able to get to know Mikoto better- Saruhiko’s abandonment had left him feeling almost worthless, but to know his King seemed to consider him deserving of his time was going some way to help repair that.

However, that wasn’t the only side effect of being around Tatara, and the others weren’t quite so positive. The most unfortunate of which was the crush he could feel himself beginning to develop on his friend, and no matter what he did, the feelings only got stronger every time he saw him. Apart from anything else, Tatara was _very_ pretty, and that combined with his kindness and his generosity and the amount of time they’d been spending together had ignited some confusing feelings that were beginning to bubble in the pit of Misaki’s gut. It wouldn’t have been so bad if Tatara wasn’t already off-limits, but his relationship with Mikoto was so obviously full of love and support that Misaki despised himself for even contemplating coming between them. Not that he would ever act on his feelings though, or that he thought Tatara would ever choose him over their King anyway.

So he pushed through. The ache in his gut at the sight of his friend was bearable if he ignored it, and he certainly preferred having an unrequited crush to being without Tatara’s company; he didn’t know if he would have made it through the rough patch after Saruhiko left without him.

It wasn’t like he’d never dealt with unrequited feelings before anyway; he’d been nursing a puppy crush on Mikoto since he joined Homra, and it was because of Mikoto that Misaki started questioning his sexuality in the first place. Still, his crush on Mikoto hadn’t seemed like such a big deal back then- it was more the sort of crush one might have on a celebrity, or on an upperclassman; he knew from the outset it was completely unattainable. Even before Mikoto and Tatara had gotten together, it was obvious to everyone (even Misaki, who was normally totally oblivious about anything to do with romance) that they were meant for each other, so he never even considered the possibility of acting on his feelings. Not that knowing he was unattainable made it any easier, but he’d had much bigger problems at the time. The revelation that he wasn’t as heterosexual as first thought was a much more immediate crisis, and it was something he fought against vehemently for a number of reasons, not least of which was that it forced him into the uncomfortable realisation that his feelings for Saruhiko had been perhaps a shade stronger than platonic. Which had only been salt in the wound when he’d been abandoned by him- it was difficult to reconcile the bitterness he felt towards his old friend with the remnants of his crush on him. Misaki wasn’t good at complicated feelings, and wanting to simultaneously punch someone and cling onto them and never let them go was far too much for him, so he tried to tell himself it didn’t matter, and continued doing what he’d gotten very good at: pretending it didn’t bother him, pretending the feelings didn’t exist. And eventually, the crush he used to have on Saruhiko faded away.

He just wished his feelings for Mikoto and Tatara would do the same, but no matter how much he suppressed them and ignored them and tried to will them out of existence, they were stubborn, and it seemed the more he tried to get rid of them, the stronger they took root.

And perhaps he could have dealt with that if Tatara wasn’t the type of person who could read anyone’s thoughts as though they were written in their eyes- even Mikoto, who seemed completely expressionless to Misaki, wasn’t immune to the uncanny attention to detail of Tatara’s piercing gaze. Misaki would have been lying if he said it didn’t make him a little uncomfortable when his friend gave him one of those looks- he felt like he was being unfolded like a piece of paper for Tatara to peruse his secrets at will.

Of course, it wasn’t quite that dramatic- it wasn’t like Tatara was psychic- but he was particularly perceptive to even the subtlest of tells, and he had a knack for knowing when something was wrong, especially when Misaki hadn’t intended to say anything about it. So of course he’d begun to notice that Misaki seemed like he was bothered by something more often than not, and he wasn’t shy about asking what was wrong. Misaki always played it off, usually as residual anger from Saruhiko’s betrayal, or some small thing like a bad day at work, but he wasn’t a good liar, and one evening while Misaki was hanging out above the bar (technically in Mikoto’s room, but Tatara practically lived there) Tatara finally seemed to have heard one too many half-hearted “I’m fine”s.

“Yata, what’s really wrong? You’ve got this look on your face like Chitose gets when he’s having girl trouble, and it’s been what, six months since Fushimi left? I know it’s going to take a long time to get over it, but I also know you aren’t as cut up about it as you used to be, but you still seem just as unhappy. You know you can talk to me about anything, right?”

Misaki shifted uncomfortably in his seat- he’d felt himself grimace when Tatara had mentioned girl trouble, and it had betrayed him.

“Is there a girl you like or something?” Tatara asked gently, with an encouraging smile. It was so difficult not to spill his guts out to him with that look on his face- he had the kind of face everyone trusted.

“N-not exactly…” Misaki admitted grudgingly. He hadn’t really intended to say anything, but there was no dodging the question now, and he’d spent so long trying to bottle it all up that, just for a moment, he slipped.

“What do you mean?”

Misaki panicked. There was no way he could tell Tatara he liked him, or that he liked Mikoto- it would make their friendship unbearably awkward, and he couldn’t handle that, not when he still needed him. So he scrambled frantically for something else to tell him, and the only thing he could think of that would explain his mood was:

“…I-I think I might be gay.”

It was still perhaps more than he’d wanted to admit, but it was true that in the past few months he’d spent some time battling with his sexuality, and he could feel his attraction to women waning, but to be perfectly honest, it hadn’t really surprised or bothered him to any great extent. First realising he wasn’t straight _had_ been a big blow, and it had taken him almost a year to finally accept and wrap his head around the concept that he was queer, but now he’d sort of gotten comfortable with the idea, he was finding it more and more difficult to imagine himself with a girl.

Not that he’d intended to tell Tatara that right now- he didn’t want to give him any clues about his crushes, and this was the first time he’d actually voiced his thoughts about his sexuality out loud- but he supposed the slip could have been _much_ worse. It was still enough to make him clamp his teeth down on his tongue in regret, though.

Predictably, Tatara’s response was immediate acceptance and comfort. “Is that what’s been bothering you? Ah, you should have said something sooner, I know it can be really confusing and difficult to figure that stuff out, but you know I’d never judge you. It’s good that you’re figuring that out about yourself, there’s nothing wrong with it. It doesn’t make you any less of a man.”

“Thanks…”

Even though he hadn’t meant to come out right then, Tatara’s words were still comforting. Part of the reason it had taken him so long to come to terms with his orientation was the way it clashed in his head with his masculinity, and while he knew cognitively that being gay didn’t make him weak or girly (he’d seen Mikoto, the strongest man he knew, kiss another man enough times to know that wasn’t the case), he still struggled not to feel emasculated by the revelation. Not that he saw anything wrong with the idea of being a feminine guy, but it wasn’t what he wanted for himself- he’d grown up wanting to be a protector, someone strong and reliable, the typical man of the house, and it had been difficult for him to make that mesh with the idea of dating guys.

“Is that why Fushimi leaving was so hard on you?”

That had been the other reason he didn’t want to admit he was into guys when he first started to have his suspicions about himself- it was a step towards admitting he wasn’t sure if his feelings for his old best friend were platonic or romantic, and he hadn’t wanted to risk making things awkward between them by having a crush on him. Not that it would have made a difference in hindsight- he didn’t think confessing would have stopped Saruhiko from leaving.

“N-no! …I dunno, I don’t feel that way about him anymore, he’s a shitty traitor, how could I like someone like that? But I guess maybe, a while back…” he admitted with a sigh, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. Tatara had this way about him of getting people to say things they’d never say to anyone else.

“It’s alright. It’s normal to get crushes on your friends. If you ever need anyone to talk to about this, or if you have any questions, you know King and I are always here for you.”

Misaki nodded. He’d heard Tatara say he was there for him more times than he could count.

“It can be a lot to come to terms with, but once you’ve figured yourself out it gets easier, and you’re handsome, you’ll have no trouble finding a boyfriend.”

Misaki felt his cheeks burn at the comment, and he scrambled for a response, but could only summon a lengthy stutter before falling silent and staring at the floorboards.

Tatara chuckled gently, then looked up as the door opened and interrupted him before he could offer Misaki some reassurance. Mikoto walked in with his hands in his pockets, and a faint downward turn to the corner of his lips that Misaki didn’t notice, but Tatara did. Tatara noticed plenty- not just the frown, but the black charring on his sleeve, and the way his shoulders trembled almost imperceptibly with the effort of keeping his powers contained. He hadn’t had a good day.

Tatara patted the seat beside him with a comforting smile, and Mikoto crossed the room to press his fist to his partner’s palm, then wrapped his arm around his shoulder as he sank onto the couch to draw comfort from Tatara’s touch. Misaki averted his eyes from the sight and shifted uncomfortably in his seat, feeling as though he was intruding on something intimate and private (though it didn’t help that seeing the two people he had growing crushes on being lovey-dovey with each other made his stomach turn.)

But even despite his discomfort (and his usual level of obliviousness) he quickly picked up on Mikoto’s emotional state. He had a vague awareness that Mikoto seemed to lose control of himself and go a little overboard with his powers sometimes, and that he felt guilty about it, but he wasn’t entirely aware of the extent of it- Mikoto hid his distress well around everyone except Tatara. Still, now Misaki was quite sure there was something wrong, and he couldn’t just sit there while his King was upset. Not that he had any idea of what to say, but Tatara piped up before he had a chance to speak anyway. Misaki listened quietly to their conversation.

“What’s wrong?”

“Couple o’ the guys got themselves into some trouble and Kusanagi sent me to help ‘em out. Things got outta hand, one guy got taken away in an ambulance.”

“Ah, Kusanagi-san mentioned to me that Chitose had called, said he was hitting on some girl who turned out to have a boyfriend, and the boyfriend took offense, I didn’t realise it turned into a fight though.”

“Dewa stepped in, so the boyfriend called his friends.”

Misaki realised he didn’t think he’d ever heard Mikoto say so much in one go.

“Don’t beat yourself up,” Tatara said gently. “Our guys could have gotten hurt if you hadn’t stepped in.”

“They coulda taken care of it themselves.”

“Then it _definitely_ would have turned into a fight, and Chitose has a bad habit of hanging around shady parts of town where people carry guns. Your presence is usually enough to diffuse an argument and avoid a fight entirely, that’s why Kusanagi sends you to these things, because your reputation precedes you and people don’t wanna get on your bad side. A couple of idiot thugs thinking they can take you on is their fault, not yours. You were defending yourself and your clansmen, that’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

By now, Misaki had figured out what they were talking about- he’d heard that Chitose had gotten into a fight that afternoon, and somebody had pulled a gun, but he’d never been worried. Firearms had never been a match for their aura, but apparently, things had gotten a little out of hand. By the sounds of it, the boyfriend was a little drunk and more than a little overprotective, and had bitten off more than he could chew when it came to “defending” his girl from some well-intentioned flirting. .

“It’s good the guy got what he deserved,” Misaki finally chipped in. “He sounds like a piece of work, starting a fight over a girl like some kinda animal. Apart from anything else that’s disrespectful of the lady, treating her like property, but it’s good you were there. It’s ‘cause people know how scary you can get when you’re mad that they don’t try anything on innocent people who can’t protect themselves, like Totsuka-san and Anna-chan. Even though it kinda sucks to feel bad about hurting someone, you protected the people you care about, right? That’s a really cool thing to do in my eyes.”

A moment passed at the end of Misaki’s monologue as he reflected on how hurried and stammered it had been, and he felt his cheeks warming in embarrassment once more. But when he looked up, Tatara was smiling at him, and Mikoto seemed… calmer. He wasn’t gripping Tatara’s hand quite so tightly anymore.

“See? I’m not the only one who’s figured out your powers are meant to protect,” Tatara declared, almost smugly, as he slung his arm around Misaki’s shoulder with pride.

“Mm,” Mikoto replied simply, and left it there, but he appeared to have cheered up a little bit- the faintest of smiles curled the corners of his lips, and Misaki felt his heart squeeze in his chest, both at how close Tatara was to him, and at the privilege of seeing Mikoto like this, with his guard down. He almost never showed that side to anyone other than Tatara and Anna- Misaki couldn’t believe his luck that he was one of the only other members of Homra who got this. It was bittersweet though, knowing how much he wanted more of this, but couldn’t have it.

Tatara glanced between the pair of them, seeming pleased by the exchange, then clapped his hands together and got to his feet. “Sounds like both of you deserve a drink, and it is a Friday night after all.”

Misaki wasn’t about to protest- for once, Kusanagi wasn’t around to chide him for drinking below the legal age, and he felt like he could do with one, just to calm his nerves.

Tatara headed to the fridge to retrieve a few cans of beer, then passed one to each of his companions before opening one himself.

“Careful,” Mikoto said to Tatara, nodding towards the can in his hand. Despite that Tatara was of the legal drinking age (though only just), he was far worse at handling alcohol than Misaki- by the time he’d gotten two drinks down, he was usually very tipsy when everyone else would still be largely sober. It was hilarious to watch, until he entered his “affectionate drunk” stage and sent Misaki’s pulse skyrocketing whenever he started getting cuddly with him (which usually started half way through his first drink.)

Physical affection wasn’t the only side effect of Tatara’s inebriation, and predictably, half way through his first can of beer, he began to let slip the odd cheesy compliment, or declaration of just how fond he was of the people present. Which once again, was not good for Misaki’s blood pressure, and it wasn’t long before he felt his cheeks heating up in mortification.

“You know, you shouldn’t worry about what Fushimi thinks of you so much,” Tatara said suddenly, turning to Misaki. “You’re a handsome guy, and you’re sweet and chivalrous and you’ve got that rugged masculine charm about you. You could have anyone you wanted, someone who sees eye to eye with you and makes you happy. Right, Mikoto? Don’t you think he’d make someone a great boyfriend someday?”

Misaki felt the blood rush into his cheeks, trying to ignore the pang of discomfort in the pit of his stomach at the sound of the person he wanted but couldn’t have telling him he could have anyone he wanted.

“You’re embarrassing him,” Mikoto pointed out.

“Just answer the question- he’s cute, isn’t he?”

Mikoto rolled his eyes, but nodded, unable to deny Tatara a response when he was giving him those puppy eyes.

Misaki took a deep swig of his drink to hide his face. “Y-you know, I’m always grateful for your help and stuff but ya don’t need to say all that stuff… It’s not a big deal, I’ll get a p-partner or whatever when the time’s right, there’s no rush on any of that stuff…” he mumbled, trying his best not to sound humiliated.

“It’s fine, I just thought you should know, one guy to another, that you really are handsome and you’re a great guy and you shouldn’t let someone make you feel like you’re not worthy because you weren’t right for each other at one moment in time.”

“That whole ‘one guy to another’ thing doesn’t really apply unless you’re straight ya know…” Misaki grumbled.

“Why don’t ya just kiss him already?” Mikoto joked to Tatara, rolling his eyes at his gooeyness. He evidently found his boyfriend’s drunken behaviour highly amusing.

Misaki spluttered, almost choking on his drink at Mikoto’s suggestion, but the blood drained from his face as Tatara _actually leaned in_ towards him and pressed a kiss to his cheek. It was chaste and innocent and friendly but he felt like his heart was going to crack through his ribs.

“Ah… I-it’s um… getting late…” Misaki managed to stammer out. “I should probably head home…”

“Ahh, you’re right, I didn’t realise the time! You shouldn’t walk home through this part of town so late at night, though, and it’s raining anyway. Stay over, we’ll pull out the couch for you,” Tatara suggested, and like Mikoto, Misaki was unable to say no to that face. So he accepted the offer, along with the pyjamas loaned to him, and helped Tatara pull the sofa out into a bed. The pyjamas he’d been lent were Mikoto’s- Tatara was far too skinny for Misaki to fit any of his clothes. There was something embarrassing about the way the clothes dwarfed him, and something even more embarrassing about the suggested intimacy of it- the fabric smelled of his King, and he couldn’t get the idea out of his head that Mikoto had actually slept in these clothes. He changed promptly, then climbed into bed and stared at the ceiling, trying to avoid breathing in the scent of his King that lingered on the cuffs of his sleeves as Mikoto and Tatara got themselves ready to sleep. In truth, there was nothing he wanted more than to go home and freak out in peace, but there was something about Tatara’s face that made him incredibly difficult to say no to. So he lay awake, listening to his friends climb into bed beside each other and share soft kisses and whispered “goodnight”s and “I love you”s as he clamped his teeth down on his bottom lip, trying his best to pretend he didn’t wish he could be over there with them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter can also be found on [Tumblr](http://mistleto-3.tumblr.com/post/159301432184/positive-outcomes-part-2)

When Tatara awoke in the morning, his mouth was dry and he felt as though something sharp was piercing his skull right between his eyes. Alcohol always had something of a disproportionate effect on him, and unfortunately, the hangovers were no exception. With a quiet groan, he pulled himself out of bed and padded into the bathroom to pour himself a glass of water and throw back a couple of painkillers, then he returned promptly to the warmth beneath the covers, climbing in beside Mikoto and cuddling up to his side. Mikoto stirred at the movement and slung an arm lazily over Tatara’s waist to pull him in closer. As he sank into the embrace, Tatara let out a contented sigh, but the moment of peace was quickly disturbed as his memories from the previous night came creeping back through the haze of his hangover and he was overwhelmed all of a sudden by a wave of mortification.

“I’m sorry for last night…” he whispered, half-hiding his face in Mikoto’s side.

“Hm?”

“I was basically flirting with Yata-san right in front of you… That wasn’t okay of me, I’m sorry.”

“No worries.”

“King…” Tatara protested.

“It’s not like you’d cheat on me,” Mikoto pointed out, his voice still thick with drowsiness.

“I know…”

“I did tell you to kiss him.”

“I know, but still…”

“I thought it was cute.”

“…Really?”

“Kid needs some friendly interaction anyway.”

“He does, but I wouldn’t exactly call what I was doing friendly…”

“Calm down,” Mikoto said rolling his eyes, and Tatara nodded, taking a deep breath and letting it out in a sigh to steady himself as Mikoto rubbed his back.

There was a moment of quiet, and then Mikoto spoke again: “Do ya like him?”

“Huh? Of course I do, he’s one of my closest friends.”

“You know what I mean.”

Tatara blinked in surprise, taken off guard by the question. If he was honest with himself, yeah, he had a bit of a crush, but it was nothing serious, nothing worth jeopardising his relationship over. “I mean… yeah, he’s attractive and I get along well with him, but I would never want to leave y-…”

“I know you wouldn’t leave.”

Tatara tilted his head. “I don’t understand… why does it matter if I think he’s sort of sweet if nothing would ever come of it?”

Mikoto was quiet for a moment, and Tatara tilted his head, trying to read the odd look on his face.

“What, do you think the same?”

Now that Tatara thought about it, he supposed Mikoto did treat Misaki a little… differently to the other clansmen. Tatara had thought at first that it was just a sort of paternalism- Misaki had that kind of childish optimism on his face of a person whose outlook on the world so far had been, at least for the most part, positive, and it was irresistible to want to protect that. He was an undeniably bright person- the kind of guy who lit up any room he was in with a fire that seemed to burn within him at all times, like a candle that refused to go out.

But then Saruhiko had left, and the candle _had_ been snuffed out, and Tatara had attributed the ensuing closeness between the three of them to the desire to get it burning again. It was disconcerting to see him so down, and Mikoto had seemed as eager as anyone to help him back onto his feet again. Or at least, as eager as Mikoto ever seemed about anything. So Tatara had passed it off as the behaviour one would expect from someone helping out a friend in need. But he’d never considered his feelings would go any further than that.

Mikoto shrugged in response to the question. “He’s attractive, I guess.”

“Yeah but let’s be fair, so is pretty much everyone in Homra. But I feel like you treat him differently to the others. Like you have a soft spot for him.”

“I guess so.” He paused for a moment, as though in thought, then continued: “Having him around helps.”

“He seemed to cheer you up a lot last night,” Tatara mentioned, his tone neutral, trying his best not to sound accusatory.

“Mm.”

Tatara was quiet for a long moment, and Mikoto’s brow furrowed, as though he was worried the noncommittal confession might have upset him. Just as Mikoto was about to open his mouth to apologise, Tatara said:

“…Shall we ask him on a date?”

By this point, unknown to the pair lying in bed together, Misaki had awoken on the sofa, catching snippets of the whispered conversation that made his heart thunder against his ribcage.

* * *

 

The next day, Tatara asked Misaki to accompany them to the zoo.

Unable to quite believe that the proposal he’d overheard might actually be coming to life, Misaki stuttered out a question about whether or not Anna would be joining them, and when Tatara confirmed that it would just be the three of them, Misaki’s chest was seized with a crushing combination of excitement and horrific anxiety.

Despite his utter terror at the prospect of spending the day in a scenario that could roughly be approximated as a date with the two people he was trying his best not to have a crush on (Misaki still refused to believe it was _really_ a date; it seemed too good to be true), when it came down to it, Misaki actually had a pretty good time out with them. They’d managed to get Mikoto to “pose” (and by “pose” it was more of a “standing neutrally with a disgruntled expression”) by the lion enclosure for a picture, and Tatara had been swarmed in the butterfly house; it had taken almost ten minutes to get the last of the creatures off him so the three of them could leave the enclosure. Every time they managed to shoo one away, two more seemed to land on him. Misaki had taken Tatara’s camera at that point, and he had a few dozen pictures of him covered in the little creatures, wearing a grin that took Misaki’s breath away. His favourite picture from the day by far though had been the selfie the three of them had taken together- Tatara had handed Mikoto his camera because he had the longest reach, then threw his arms around each of his companions. Although the faint blush that coloured Misaki’s cheeks in the photo was somewhat mortifying, he could look past it in favour of the smile on Tatara’s face, and the relaxed look on Mikoto’s- it was rare he truly looked content, but he seemed almost happy in this picture. If Misaki looked _really_ closely, he thought he could just about see the corners of his lips turning upwards. He set the photograph as the wallpaper on his phone.

Less than a week later, just as Misaki had finally recovered from the first totally-not-a-date, Tatara was inviting him out again- this time to a new American-style diner that had recently opened in the area. Initially, Misaki had once again resisted the invitation, saying Tatara and Mikoto should go by themselves- he didn’t want to be a third wheel. Tatara immediately dismissed his concerns, promising him that both of them wanted him to be there. Still not convinced, Misaki assured Tatara that they didn’t need to fuss over him or take pity because of Saruhiko or because of his coming out or anything like that, but Tatara had merely repeated his promise that they just wanted to spend time with him with a serene look on his face that made Misaki oddly nervous.

His anxiety only got worse the day of the outing- he kept telling himself it wasn’t a date and to stop being an idiot, but no matter what he tried, nothing would soothe the fretfulness that had him panicking over what to wear, what cologne to use, how to style his hair… They weren’t even going to a fancy restaurant, just a diner, but he still had five different shirts laid out on his bed, chewing his lip as his gaze flickered from one to the other before he finally settled on the blue one. And then he dripped water onto his collar as he splashed his face to calm himself down, so he changed into the khaki green button-down that Tatara had complimented once. He ended up almost making himself late.

Thankfully, he relaxed a little once he got there- there was something about being around Tatara that put him at ease, even despite his nerves and the little jolt in his chest every time his friend smiled or got too close. Mikoto was quiet as usual, but he seemed more… engaged than he normally did- his gaze was attentive as it followed the pair talking, and he seemed more willing than usual to offer his two cents, even if his sentences were usually barely a dozen words long. Occasionally, he’d laugh, and Misaki’s heart would start acting up again.

In general, the dynamic between them seemed a little different. Almost more intimate, more relaxed, closer. It was as though they were no longer fellow clansmen, but friends. Well, Misaki supposed they’d always been friends, but now he didn’t feel like he was with two people who outranked him; he felt like he was sitting beside people who saw him as equals- like he was Misaki first, and Vanguard later. Increasingly, he found it difficult to keep a goofy grin off his face. Being around the two of them just felt so easy- even with the adrenaline of spending the time alone with his crushes, there were no awkward silences, no forced laughs, no faked interest. Just two people who genuinely seemed to care about him. It made him giddy.

The giddiness didn’t go away either- for the entire rest of the day, he had trouble concentrating on anything for more than a few minutes before his mind wandered back to Mikoto and Tatara. He tossed and turned for hours before he finally drifted off to sleep, and when he finally did, he dreamed of them. It was getting unbearable.

The day after the three of them went out for a meal, Misaki finally reached breaking point. His odd behaviour was drawing some attention from his fellow clansmen, and during a lull in the middle of the afternoon when the only other person still hanging around at Homra was Mikoto, napping on one of the sofas, Rikio confronted his friend.

“Yata-san, is something bothering you?”

“H-huh? No, ‘c-course not.” The lie was so painfully unconvincing that it made Misaki cringe.

“You sure? You’re acting really out of sorts.”

Misaki held his breath for a moment, glancing between Mikoto’s sleeping figure and his friend’s concerned expression, and in under a second, he snapped, and everything he’d been bottling up came flooding out. His crushes (though he was careful not to admit his feelings were truly romantic, though he might as well have), his sexuality, the conversations he’d had with the pair, the “dates” that weren’t really dates, (were they?)- all the worries that had been building up inside of Misaki like a shaken soda can poured into the open until he’d finally emptied himself of every last one as Rikio listened attentively to his babbling.

As soon as it was all out, Misaki clammed up again, realising to his great embarrassment that he’d just laid his soul bare for his friend to see.

“S-sorry, that was-…”

“Healthy. It’s good to talk about these things, Yata-san. You should have said something before; you know I’d never judge you.”

Misaki sighed, grumbling some incoherent protest under his breath before changing the subject. “So what do you think of the zoo thing and the dinner thing?”

“They sound like dates to me. If a girl asked you on something like that, just the two of you, then there wouldn’t be any doubt, right?”

“Right…” Misaki replied, but seemed unconvinced.

“What?”

“It’s not though, is it? It’s two people, and they’re already dating.”

“Polyamorous relationships are a thing, ya know.”

“Not all of us finished high school here,” Misaki grumbled. “Quit showin’ off with big words.”

“Polyamory is when someone loves more than one person at a time.”

“So cheating?”

“No, no. With the permission of everyone involved. It could be that someone who’s married has a partner on the side, and everyone knows about it and is okay with it, or it could be three or more people all in a relationship together, all of them equals. There are lots of different ways to be polyamorous.”

“…So like a th-threesome?” Misaki did his best to keep his composure, but the lewd topic and the inevitable intrusive thoughts about himself in a situation like that with Mikoto and Tatara made him trip over the word.

“It’s not just a sex thing. It’s a relationship thing.”

“So… three people dating each other.”

“Yes,” Rikio said patiently.

“…Ya seem to know an awful lot about this.”

“A friend of mine from high school has two girlfriends; he gave me a crash course.”

“N-not that all this matters anyway. They’d never be into me like that. A-and I’m not into _them_ like that. I’m not gay.”

Rikio gave him a dubious look. “I’ve known you since we were kids; you can’t pull the wool over my eyes. And what makes you so sure they wouldn’t feel the same way? They treat you way differently to everyone else in Homra.”

“Shut up,” Misaki grumbled. “A-anyway, I said I’d go meet Shouhei; I gotta go or I’m gonna be late. See ya later,” he said hurriedly, adjusting his hat and turning on his heel to head for the exit before his friend could see him blushing.

As the door swung closed, Rikio turned to face Mikoto, who was still lying motionless on the couch with his eyes closed. “So how much of that did you hear?” It had been a few minutes since he’d noticed his King’s breathing was a little too fast for him to be sleeping.

Mikoto opened one eye to look at his clansman, then stretched his arms above his head and sat up slowly. “Enough.” His blank expression gave no hint as to how he felt about being found out.

Rikio walked over to the couch to sit opposite Mikoto, resting his elbows on his thighs as he leaned forward in the seat. “I guess I’ll be frank: is there something going on between you and Totsuka-san and Yata-san? Because, with all due respect, if there isn’t, please don’t lead him on. He’s been hurt enough.”

As Rikio spoke, Mikoto pulled a cigarette from a crumpled box in his pocket, rested it between his lips, and lit it with a click of his fingers. Silence fell, and he appeared to ponder his response for a moment as he exhaled a ribbon of smoke that coiled upwards to catch in the afternoon light streaming in through the window, before he finally said: “Nothin’ official. But yeah, Totsuka likes him.”

“And you?”

There was another pause before Mikoto ever so slightly inclined his head.

“Well, Yata-san is oblivious as hell when it comes to romantic stuff, so you have to be straight with him or he won’t figure it out. No pun intended.” 

Mikoto let out a single chuckle, and Rikio ran his hand through his hair, allowing himself to crack a smile now that the tension seemed to have dropped a little.

“Well, as long as you know,” he said, getting to his feet. “He’s a good guy, and he deserves some happiness for a change, so treat him right. And good luck.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kajfgdf it took so long to finish this but it's finally done!! like 5 months behind schedule rip
> 
> This chapter can also be found on [Tumblr.](http://mistleto-3.tumblr.com/post/161692159864/positive-outcomes-part-3-finale)

Tatara had been somewhat embarrassed when Mikoto told him of the conversation he’d had with Rikio in the bar earlier that day, but their clansman had a point. On both of their dates, Misaki’d had this sort of dreamlike look about him, as though he couldn’t quite be sure this was really happening- judging by his demeanour, he felt the same way about Mikoto and Tatara as they did about him, and didn’t dare to believe they were really interested in him. In a way, it was sort of sad to see Misaki almost _incapable_ of believing that the outings were dates, no matter how obvious Tatara had tried to make it; it spoke volumes about his self-esteem.

So the pair resolved to follow Rikio’s advice and be upfront with him, and do it soon. If for no other reason that the romantic tension was building to breaking point, and Tatara was finding it quite difficult to suppress the building urges to just grab Misaki and make out with him. And by the sounds of it, Mikoto was having thoughts of a similar nature. Along with thoughts of a slightly more indecent nature- more than once since the three of them had started going on dates, he’d brought up the topic of Misaki in the bedroom, murmuring in Tatara’s ear about fantasies of what they’d be doing if Misaki was with them as they made love. If Tatara hadn’t been sure he had a crush before, he _definitely_ was after that, and it was a struggle to keep the blush off his face on their second date as the vivid images of the things Mikoto had described flooded into his head at the most inopportune moments. Especially while Mikoto was smirking at him, knowing exactly what it was that had him so flustered- it was difficult to get the echoes of Mikoto’s gruff whispers out of his mind. For someone who was usually so quiet most of the time, Mikoto had a surprising aptitude for dirty talk… Tatara had to shake the inappropriate thoughts out of his head.

They came to the decision that staying in would be the most appropriate setting for this third date if they were planning to have a serious conversation about their relationship- it was private, and hopefully a little more relaxed than a more traditional “date” setting, and they would be able to have a few beers to calm their nerves, so they invited Misaki over to Mikoto’s apartment above the bar to watch a sports game with them and order takeout.

Misaki, once again, arrived ever so slightly overdressed (but looking very handsome) and completely stiff with nerves- the intimacy of the scenario was evidently not lost on him. Still, he seemed to relax a little as he emptied his first can of beer, but his heart was still thundering so quickly that Tatara could hear it with his head resting on Misaki’s shoulder. Though to be fair, Tatara had a suspicion it might have been the fact he was practically cuddled up to Misaki’s side that had him so nervous. That and the difference in the atmosphere- things seemed… different to the last couple of sort-of-dates they’d been on. It was more intimate, more flirty. Every so often, Tatara would make a dirty joke and Misaki would stutter, and at one point Mikoto (who was sitting the opposite side of Misaki to Tatara) stretched and rested his arm on the back of the sofa behind Misaki, almost around his shoulders, and Tatara feared the poor boy might pass out.

It only got worse as time went on. Tatara had always been a lightweight, and by his second beer, he could feel himself getting overtly flirty, touching Misaki’s hands and playing with his hair, generally being far too affectionate for any of this to be considered simply friendly. Meanwhile, Mikoto had laid down on the couch, his feet hanging over the arm of the chair and his head resting in Misaki’s lap. A hint of the giddy grin that Misaki was trying desperately to suppress shone right through the mask of composure he was trying to cling onto, and Tatara couldn’t help but find it adorable.

In truth, though, he felt a little bit bad. He’d planned this serious discussion, but the tension and the alcohol had mounted to the point that Tatara didn’t know if he was in any state to go through with it- every time he’d gotten himself worked up to broach the subject, something had come up and distracted him; Misaki would say something, or something would happen on the sports game they were half-watching, and now he worried he’d missed his chance and they’d leave Misaki in limbo until the next date. And apart from anything else, Tatara had _really_ been looking forward to what he hoped would be the outcome of their discussion, but he also felt terrible leaving Misaki to fret over what they were to each other any longer.

Thankfully, Mikoto was much less concerned with things like subtlety or finding the right moment; it seemed he’d grown tired of the tension and decided to force Tatara’s hand. He watched the pair of them as Tatara gushed about how much he loved Misaki’s hair colour, looking at the way his boyfriend had basically attached himself to their guest’s side, and said simply:

“Will you two just kiss already?”

Misaki went bright red at the prospect. The last time Mikoto had said that, he’d gotten a kiss on the cheek, but the atmosphere was so different now…

Tatara giggled, then met Misaki’s wide eyes with a flirty look. “Only if Yata-chan is okay with it~…”

Misaki was clearly frozen stiff at the idea, his mouth hanging slightly open in disbelief. It took a moment before he’d gathered himself enough to reply, but his voice was quiet, meek. “B-but you’re dating Mikoto-san…” he protested weakly, as though he couldn’t quite allow himself to believe it.

“King gave us permission,” Tatara countered gently, not wanting to put too much pressure on him.

After another second of stunned silence, Misaki finally gave a stiff nod, and Tatara leaned in slowly, cupping Misaki’s jaw with one hand as he kissed him ever so softly on the lips. Misaki’s eyes fluttered closed, savouring the moment, and they didn’t open again until a moment or two after Tatara had pulled away. A grin he couldn’t quite suppress spread irresistibly across Misaki’s lips and he swayed slightly in his seat, as if he was lightheaded.

Tatara giggled at his response, partly because of how cute he was, overwhelmed by such an innocent thing, and partly because Tatara’s pulse had started skipping at the brief contact of their lips. He felt as if there were bubbles rising through his chest; he hadn’t felt this way since he and Mikoto had first gotten together.

Tatara glanced down at his boyfriend suddenly, to check he was still okay with this now he’d actually seen it happen, and thankfully, a faint smile was playing across Mikoto’s lips. He was looking at Misaki with the same subtle adoration in his eyes as when he looked at Tatara, and the sight of it, the person Tatara loved looking at the person he was falling in love with that way, made his heartbeat flutter in his ribcage.

“It’s not fair if only I get to kiss him…” Tatara pointed out, feeling himself getting bashful all of a sudden. He hadn’t been flustered like this since the early days of his relationship with Mikoto.

Misaki gasped softly at the suggestion, his eyes widening once more in shock, and he stared at Mikoto with a completely dumbfounded look.

Mikoto smirked faintly. “True,” he murmured, then sat up on the couch, close enough to Misaki that he could feel the warmth of his skin, and wrapped his arm around his shoulders to pull him in. Mikoto’s kiss was deeper than Tatara’s, and lasted a few moments before they finally broke apart. When they did, Misaki’s cheeks were flaming red as he glanced rapidly between his two friends in disbelief at what had just happened. Both of them had their arms around him now, cuddling up to him on the couch, and poor Misaki looked as though he was about to have a heart attack.

“You okay?” Tatara asked playfully, and Misaki responded instantly with a firm nod.

“Good,” Tatara responded with a giggle, then leaned in a little once more; having seen the deeper kiss, he wanted one for himself. This time, Misaki didn’t freeze. He leaned forward to meet Tatara’s lips eagerly, wrapping his arms around him as they kissed once more, and Tatara ran his fingers through Misaki’s hair. Misaki’s movements were clumsy with inexperience, but Tatara thought it was sweet; there was something attractive about his wide-eyed shock at the turn of events. He looked almost… innocent.

Of course, Tatara knew better than to think that was true. Misaki’s nerves had gotten the better of him, but now the initial shock was wearing off, there was a hint of desperation in the way his fingers clutched at the fabric of Tatara’s shirt, and eagerness burned in his kisses, as though he’d been fantasising about this for a while. Tatara could feel the tension that had built up over the past few weeks smouldering beneath the surface in him.

As the kiss went on, Misaki grew bolder, encouraged by the way Tatara yielded to his touch, and his tongue snaked forward between their parted lips to meet Tatara’s. Both of them let out contented sighs at the contact. By now, it seemed Mikoto had grown tired of being left out, and he snaked his arms around Misaki’s waist from behind and kissed his cheek, his lips ghosting over his earlobe, and at the touch, Misaki let out a soft involuntary groan. Immediately, he broke the kiss and withdrew from the contact, mortified with himself.

“It’s okay,” Tatara said brightly. “I get like that when he kisses my ear too.”

“I-I don’t want to intrude…”

“Nonsense. We want you here,” Tatara insisted. “Unless you don’t want to-…”

“N-no!” Misaki cut in, then paused, embarrassed by how vehemently he hadn’t wanted this to stop. “I-I… uh…” He trailed off, seeming to be struggling to put the thing that was bothering him into words.

“It’s okay to be nervous. I am too,” Tatara reassured him.

“I-it’s not that…” Misaki’s entire face had gone bright red, and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat, as if…

It suddenly clicked for Tatara that the reason Misaki was so embarrassed was because of how heated that exchange had just gotten, and the effect it’d had on him.

“…It’s okay to be… _excited,_ too,” Tatara said quietly. “I’m sort of… well, you’re very attractive, and I’ve been thinking about kissing you for a long time, so…” As he spoke, he saw Misaki’s gaze drop for a fraction of a second to his groin, and by the way his pupils dilated and he swore under his breath, Tatara was certain that Misaki had noticed the slight bulge developing in Tatara’s trousers. He seemed almost paralysed with disbelief.

And it only got worse when Mikoto made a soft sound of agreement in his throat, and Misaki whirled around to look at him, suddenly hyperaware of how close together their bodies were. His eyes dropped once again to find Mikoto was in the exact same predicament as Tatara, and he swallowed in nervous excitement, blinking a few times as if to make sure what he was seeing was actually real.

“Obviously there’s no pressure to act on…” Tatara began, not wanting Misaki to feel in the slightest pressured or ganged up on, but before he could finish, Misaki cut in:

“N-no!” he said hurriedly, his eyes widening in what seemed like panic; he evidently didn’t want this to end. “I-I want… um… I-I won’t s-say no…” he stumbled over the words, his face blushing so deeply it almost seemed to be glowing.

Tatara smiled at his response- he’d always thought Misaki’s bashfulness was irresistibly cute, and the scenario only made it even more adorable.

“C-can…” Misaki cleared his throat, then spat out the words as quickly as possible, before he could stutter over them again. “Canyoukissmeagain?”

Tatara’s grin widened, and obligingly, he cupped Misaki’s jaw and leaned in to kiss him, but this time Misaki met his lips with hunger rather than shocked paralysis. His arms wound around Tatara’s waist as the kiss deepened, their lips parting against one another as the speed of their breathing accelerated. Mikoto ran his hand up and down Misaki’s sides as he watched the pair kiss, his gaze fixed intently on their faces.

When they finally broke apart, Misaki was almost gasping for breath, and Tatara’s cheeks had begun to develop a faint pink tinge. He hadn’t anticipated tonight taking a turn like this, but he wasn’t about to stop it, not when everyone involved seemed so eager for it to continue.

Mikoto barely gave Misaki time to gulp in a breath before he turned his head towards him and crushed their lips together again, and Misaki yielded instantly to the urgency of the kiss. The tension that had been building since the that first night when the atmosphere between the three of them had taken a flirty turn had finally bubbled over, and Mikoto was clearly no longer concerned with holding back.

Unable to keep his hands to himself as he watched the two of them make out, Tatara spent the time peppering brief kisses up and down Misaki’s throat, and as soon as they had broken apart, Tatara leaned across Misaki to steal what he’d intended to be a brief kiss from Mikoto, overwhelmed by just how much he’d enjoyed the sight of them like that. Mikoto, though, had other ideas, and his tongue slipped forward commandingly into Tatara’s mouth, coaxing a groan past his lips.

Misaki didn’t seem to know what to do with himself, star-struck by the sight of the two beautiful men in such a state, and nervously, he pressed his lips to Tatara’s neck, shivering at the groan that escaped his throat at the touch.

Suddenly, Mikoto was on his feet, his patience having snapped, and he scooped up the two other men and carried them swiftly over to the bed. He dropped them both on their backs and crawled on top of them, his lips gravitating to Misaki’s throat, who let out a sound that was half a yelp of surprise and half a groan at the contact.  His hands flew up to wrap around Mikoto’s shoulders and grip the back of his shirt.

Tatara rolled onto his side to face the two of them, and he pressed a kiss to Misaki’s cheek before asking quietly: “Are you sure you’re okay with this? Because you can say at any time if you’re-…”

He was cut off by Misaki grabbing him by the hair and kissing him roughly to shut him up, his hormones obviously beginning to overcome his inhibitions. While Misaki might never have said it out loud, there was a clear undertone of _do whatever the fuck you want to me_ in the way he kissed him, and Tatara was eager to oblige, his lips joining Mikoto’s on his throat when Misaki’s had released them.

They quickly worked down to the collar of Misaki’s shirt, and Tatara made short work of pulling it off to expose his torso, and while Mikoto’s mouth trailed down to linger over the Homra insignia on his collarbone, Tatara sat up to unfasten and remove his own shirt, feeling it was only fair that if Misaki was shirtless, they all should be. He tugged at the hem of Mikoto’s top to request he do the same, but it took a moment before he could pull his boyfriend away from his task to undress him. By the time Mikoto finally sat up, there was a deep red mark beneath the tattoo where Mikoto had been sucking and biting the skin.

As soon as they were topless, the pair of them continued kissing down Misaki’s chest, wasting no time in gravitating down towards the waistband of his shorts, and the bulge in the fabric. The tension had built too far for any of them to care about taking their time or being romantic- there was a hunger behind all of their movements, and a need to let out the fantasies and the mounting longing that had started to become distracting.

Mikoto made short work of unfastening Misaki’s fly as Misaki stared at his hands, wide-eyed and unable to believe this was really happening. He gasped in arousal as Mikoto yanked down his shorts, and he felt like his thundering heartbeat was going to break right through his ribs as he watched Mikoto’s fingers trailing downwards in the direction of the waistband of his underwear before Tatara stopped him.

“Yata-chan is our guest, shouldn’t we be the first ones getting naked?” he said playfully.

Mikoto smirked as he lifted his hands away from Misaki's abdomen and turned to Tatara, making short work of unfastening his fly and pulling off his trousers, swiftly followed by his underwear. Misaki's gaze was fixated on Tatara as he watched Mikoto expose his pale skin. It was so abrupt- Misaki hadn't had the time to prepare himself for the sight (he'd only just gotten used to the kissing) and suddenly Tatara was naked before him. He was slender, almost feminine in his beauty, his skin soft and smooth and unblemished. His limbs were long and slim, his waist curved and his hips narrow, and a blush extended down his throat and onto his chest. Between his thighs, his cock was already hard and leaking precum. For Misaki, it was too much to take in all at once- Tatara was beautiful and delicate and sort of adorable whilst also being incredibly sexy all at the same time, and he was grinning as he watched Misaki’s gaze flicker hungrily across every inch of his body, trying to absorb the sight of him with dilated pupils.

And then suddenly Mikoto was undressing himself, and Misaki dragged his gaze away from Tatara to watch him, letting out an involuntary groan at the sight of his hands dropping to the zipper of his jeans. Mikoto was beautiful in a completely different way to Tatara- his skin was rough and tanned, and peppered all over with raised battle scars, pinkish and pale. His frame was wound tight with hard muscle- his thighs and arms were thick and strong, and Misaki felt his head growing light at the way the muscles of his abdomen flexed as he stood up to remove his boxers. He was beautiful in a powerful, rugged, almost leonine way, and there was a rapaciousness glowing in his hazel eyes. He was the kind of beautiful that made Misaki just want to surrender himself to him- his gaze felt like it was pinning him to the sheets, and Misaki had to tear his own eyes away from it to watch him step out of the last of his clothes.

Another thing to add to Misaki's list of "things he was not prepared for" was the _size_ of him. The tent in Mikoto’s jeans had seemed formidable enough, but freed from the confines of the fabric... Misaki always thought people were exaggerating when they quoted numbers above eight inches, but apparently not.

Tatara giggled at the sight of him staring. "It's impressive isn't it~?"

Misaki's mouth opened as though to say something, but then he closed it again bashfully.

"What were you gonna say~?"

"H-how does it even..."

"Fit?" Tatara offered.

Mikoto let out a single, half-smug chuckle as he climbed back onto the bed.

"It took a while to work up to it, I'll give you that,” Tatara said.

Misaki covered his face with his hand in embarrassment. "I s-sound like such a virgin..."

"Hey, it's okay. I was in your position once. I was terrified for about a month thinking about how the hell I was ever going to get it in my ass."

Misaki made a half-choked noise at how candid Tatara was being, then pressed his lips tightly closed, trying to suppress the vivid images that inevitably accompanied his phrase- first of Tatara getting fucked, then himself...

A small spot in his underwear was damp with precum by now. As much as he was intimidated by the idea, he had to admit that _fuck_ it was hot. Maybe one day... if he was lucky enough that this would be more than a one-time thing.

Tatara kissed his jaw, grinning knowingly, then whispered: "You're imagining it inside me, aren't you~?"

Misaki nodded, definitely not about to tell him the other things he'd been imagining.

"Well, if you want to watch him fuck me for real, that can be arranged..."

Misaki swore involuntarily, giving an eager nod as the prospect made his cock twitch in arousal.

Meanwhile, Mikoto had his eyes fixed on Misaki's waistband, as though impatient for him to be naked, and Misaki met his gaze as though to give him permission. Slowly, much slower than he'd undressed Tatara and himself, Mikoto hooked his fingers under the elastic of Misaki's underwear and eased it down, then discarded the garment onto the floor, taking a moment just to stare at him.

"You're hot," Mikoto said simply, and Misaki felt a fresh wave of embarrassment.

"Doesn't even begin to cover it..." Tatara added. "You should wear tighter clothes; I had no idea you had abs like _that_ ," he said with a giggle, running his hand down Misaki's stomach, then trailing it down over his hip. "And I would happily suffocate in those thighs... Anyway, move up the bed a bit."

Misaki obeyed, shuffling up to sit against the headboard, and Tatara crawled forward on all fours, pushing his thighs apart to lie between them. Misaki only just had time to gasp as he realised what Tatara was about to do before he ran the tip of his tongue up the underside of his cock, the touch light and teasing, but it was enough to make Misaki groan.

Tatara swiftly set to work, his lips wrapping around the tip of Misaki's cock, taking the head into his mouth experimentally and then lifting off again, sucking gently as he did so. Misaki's hands flew to his hair, letting out a shuddering gasp at the new sensation. The heat, the soft suction, the wetness, the friction of the patterns Tatara's tongue traced on his cock as he bobbed his head slowly... Misaki didn't know it could feel this good. Then again, he'd had no experience aside from his own hand, but still... Tatara felt _incredible,_ and the way he kept his gaze locked on Misaki's didn't help, a flirty smile curling the corners of his lips.

Meanwhile, Mikoto retrieved a bottle of lubricant from the bedside drawer and knelt behind Tatara, who had his ass in the air shamelessly. He slicked his fingers, then pressed the tip of one to Tatara's entrance, who gasped softly around Misaki at the sensation, rolling his hips back. Mikoto took it as a sign he was to waste no time, and obligingly, he slid the digit inside him, thrusting it slowly, then added a second.

Tatara timed the movement of his head with the movement of Mikoto's fingers inside him, and it wasn't long before Misaki was fisting his fingers in the bed sheets, stars beginning to burst behind his eyes.

"S-stop... I don't wanna finish yet..." he whimpered, mortified by the quality of his own voice and how quickly he'd gotten to this state, and Tatara lifted his head off his cock to kiss his hip.

"'S no shame in it," Mikoto said. "He's good with his mouth."

Tatara laughed quietly. "King can usually last a fair while, but my record when I'm really going for it is two minutes to get him off," he said smugly.

"He timed it."

Misaki chuckled weakly, but he was comforted by Mikoto's reassurance. "C-can I try giving..." he couldn't quite force out the word _oral,_ but by the way he glanced at Tatara's lips, it was obvious what he meant.

"Neither of us are gonna say no to that," Tatara pointed out. "But maybe try me first- King is a test of the best gag reflex."

Misaki nodded, and Mikoto withdrew his fingers as Tatara rolled over onto his back to give his new partner better access. Admittedly, Misaki didn't really have the faintest idea what he was doing- he knelt beside Tatara and simply stared at him for a moment, chewing his lip as he worked up the courage to give it a try. Eventually, he resolved to simply copy what Tatara had done, and he took a deep breath before leaning down to run his tongue experimentally up Tatara's cock.

"Mmm..." The soft sigh of pleasure Tatara let out was encouraging, and Misaki repeated the action, watching his face for his reaction. Emboldened by the way Tatara's eyelids flickered shut in enjoyment, he took the tip of his cock into his mouth, bobbing his head slowly. He didn't know exactly how to replicate what Tatara had been doing with his tongue, but he gave it his best shot, and received an appreciative groan in return.

"N-not bad for a beginner..." The bliss in Tatara's voice sent a ripple of goosebumps down Misaki's spine.

At that point, Mikoto resumed his ministrations, pressing two fingers back inside Tatara, who let out a cry at the assault from both sides. Misaki tried his best to match the bobbing of his head with the thrusts of Mikoto's fingers, which only seemed to amplify the whimpers flooding past Tatara's lips.

"He's vocal," Mikoto said appreciatively, and Misaki merely let out a groan around Tatara's cock in agreement.

After a few minutes, Misaki's own erection had begun to ache in longing, but he ignored it- he was thoroughly enjoying the task at hand, even if it didn't directly please him. Mikoto added a third finger, and now Tatara was writhing beneath the pair of them, his back arching as he clawed at the sheets.

"I-I'm ready!" he yelped, a hint of desperation creeping into his tone that made Misaki's vision blur for a second.

Misaki lifted his head off him, then bit his lip at the sight of Tatara, red-faced and sprawled out on the sheets. His hair stuck to a faint sheen of sweat on his forehead, and a sort of fervour glimmered in his eyes. It was possibly the hottest thing Misaki had ever seen.

Tatara reached impatiently for a pillow, stuffing it under his hips as he stared at Mikoto, panting quietly.

"W-wait..." Misaki said. He hadn't quite intended for it to slip out, but it seemed his inhibitions had come to pieces, and the filter between his brain and his mouth had dissolved.

"Hmm?" Mikoto asked.

"B-before you... c-can I..." Lacking a filter still didn't quite stop the lewder words sticking in Misaki's throat though. "S-suck..."

Mikoto smirked, then nodded, and Misaki let out a trembling breath, then leaned down towards Mikoto's groin to lap at the tip of his cock, licking away the precum before closing his mouth around the head. Mikoto ran his fingers through his hair, sighing in encouragement as Misaki pushed his head down a little, wrapping his hand around the base of his cock to stroke it as he worked the tip with his lips and tongue. Tatara shifted on the bed so he could watch them, chewing his lip in arousal as he reached down to stroke himself, but there was only so long he could wait before he finally whimpered:

"P-please get inside me.."

Obligingly, Misaki pulled away, shifting to lie beside Tatara on the bed, who had rolled over onto his belly, waiting with his thighs parted for Mikoto to position himself between them. Tatara wrapped his arm around Misaki and dug his nails into the skin of his back in anticipation, staring back over his shoulder at Mikoto with a glint of desperation in his eyes. Mikoto took his time about coating his cock with lubricant, smirking at the little impatient whimpers escaping Tatara's lips as he did so, before he finally positioned the tip of his erection against his entrance and began to ease it inside him.

Tatara whined in satisfaction, his eyes sliding shut, and Misaki swore at the sight. If he was completely honest, he'd fantasised about the pair of them making love before as he’d gotten himself off, but seeing it in reality was so much better than he’d ever imagined. Tatara's blissful groans and yelps and the way he bucked his hips up towards Mikoto's was so incredibly erotic, and seeing his King's guard beginning to slip at the enjoyment felt like such a privilege. He was normally so controlled, but now he was panting, his eyes screwing closed in pleasure. Mikoto arched his back over Tatara to bury his face in his shoulder, one hand gripping his lover's hip and the other supporting his weight against the mattress. There was something mesmerising about watching them fucking; despite the fact that Mikoto’s thrusts had grown fairly rough (at Tatara’s request), they seemed so effortless, and the way the muscles of his back and thighs and ass tensed beneath his skin as he rolled his hips made Misaki want to run his hands all over him.

"M-Misaki..."

The sound of his own name issuing from Tatara’s lips, high-pitched and thin, caught Misaki off guard, and a moan escaped him before he’d had chance to stop it. Tatara had never called him by his given name before, but the _way_ he said it...

Tatara reached weakly for Misaki's thighs, clawing at them as though he was trying to pull him, and Misaki followed the direction his hands were directing him in obediently, until he was sitting in front of Tatara's face, who once again buried his head in Misaki's groin eagerly.

Misaki let out a cry of pleasure as Tatara took him into his mouth once more. He wanted so badly to watch what Mikoto was doing to him, but it was becoming difficult to see straight- his vision was starting to go black around the edges, and he didn't think he'd last long.

But just as Misaki feared he might be reaching the point of no return, Tatara lifted his head off him and bit down on Misaki's thigh, trying to muffle a cry. Mikoto's thrusts had gotten quicker, and he wasn’t exactly being gentle with him- the bed shook under his movements, and the bare skin of their thighs slapped together as he pounded him into the mattress. Tatara clearly loved it- his masochistic streak lay bare in the way he cried out as Mikoto bit down on his shoulder and marked him with his mouth, sucking on the skin wherever his lips could reach until his back and shoulders and throat were peppered with blossoming bruises. Tatara was bucking his hips in time with the thrusts, moaning incoherently against Misaki’s thigh and seeming to relish in every single one of Mikoto’s movements inside him.

But the roughness was clearly taking a toll on Mikoto’s stamina- his shoulders had begun to tremble, and low grunts, almost snarls, of pleasure were hissing through his gritted teeth. He didn't look as though he would last much longer.

"King..." Tatara whimpered, digging his nails into Misaki's hips. "T-that's it... cum in me..."

Mikoto swore, giving a few final shaky thrusts, driven over the edge by the sound of Tatara's voice. The deep groan of pleasure that escaped his lips as he finished inside his lover made every hair on Misaki's body stand on end. There was something incredibly erotic about seeing the Red King coming apart at the command of his lover underneath him.

Mikoto took a moment to ride out his orgasm, rolling his hips slowly before he pulled out and allowed himself to collapse on the bed beside Tatara, letting out a sigh of satisfaction as he did so. Tatara was still panting hard, clearly close to the edge, and there was a feverish look on his face.

"Misaki..." he breathed, and the sound of his name in that voice again sent a jolt of white hot pleasure up Misaki's spine. “D-do you want to fuck me?"

Misaki couldn't say yes fast enough. He never imagined he'd get to do _this,_ and there was no way he could say no to Tatara in this state- almost dishevelled with pleasure, still gasping for air, his hair tousled and his whole body trembling. His skin was flushed pink from his racing pulse, and the red marks on his shoulders were beginning to darken into proper bruises. If possible, Misaki thought he’d only gotten even more beautiful.

Tatara groped for the bottle of lubricant and pressed it into Misaki's hand, and Misaki slicked his cock with it gratefully, but before he could shuffle across the bed to assume the position Mikoto had just vacated, Misaki found himself being pushed down onto his back by his King.

Tatara smirked weakly, reaching for Mikoto to hold himself steady as he picked himself up and moved to kneel over Misaki's hips. Misaki could do nothing but stare at him in disbelief as he grasped his cock with his trembling fingers and pressed the head of it against his ass.

"Ready?" Tatara asked breathlessly.

"Y-yes..." It was more a moan than anything else.

Tatara sank down slowly, and Misaki almost cried out in exaltation at the feeling of slipping inside him. And the sound Tatara made, the almost rapturous whine as he took Misaki hilt deep... It set every nerve in Misaki's body alight. Tatara's head tipped back as he started to rock his hips, his movements jerky and unsteady. He was clearly getting close, but so was Misaki- his every coherent thought had evaporated at the feeling of Tatara riding him- the tightness and the delicious friction drew him irresistibly towards the edge. And combined with the knowledge that Mikoto had already finished inside him... Misaki could barely see, but it was almost a good thing, because he was sure the look on Tatara's face would have made him cum instantly. He could just about make out the shape of Mikoto’s smirk as he reached over to stroke Tatara's cock lazily. Tatara whimpered at the sensation, and as Misaki felt him almost go limp as the strength went out of his body, he grabbed him by the hips to steady him, otherwise he feared he might have collapsed forward on top of him. He barely seemed to have the strength to keep rolling his hips, so Misaki lifted him up a little to thrust up into him; he didn’t really know what he was doing- at this point he was just running on instinct- but Tatara seemed to be enjoying it. At this point, Misaki was so close that he barely had any control over his own movements, and his thrusts were quick and frantic, but the noises coming out of Tatara’s mouth suggested he appreciated the roughness. Every so often, Misaki seemed to hit a particular spot that made Tatara shudder in ecstasy- his hand flew to cover his mouth so his barely-suppressed screams didn’t carry into the next room.

It didn’t take long before the noises escaping Tatara became ragged, and then suddenly he tensed, crying out as his cum spurted onto Misaki's abdomen and dripped onto Mikoto’s hand. The sound of him whimpering into his palm as he desperately tried to hold back a scream, combined with the way he twitched and tightened around Misaki, had him almost convulsing with pleasure as he released inside Tatara, the force of his orgasm sending shockwaves of pleasure rippling through his body. His hips bucked weakly a few times as he emptied himself into his partner, before he finally slumped back against the mattress, completely spent.

Mikoto was smirking at them as he sat up, resting a hand on Tatara’s waist to keep him upright as he leant down to lap the drops of cum off Misaki’s stomach, which only made both of them let out shaky groans. Mikoto chuckled softly as he lay back down again, licking his lips, and released his grip on Tatara’s waist, allowing him to tip forward onto Misaki’s chest, gasping for breath.

It took a while for Tatara to work up the strength to climb off him (and even then he still needed Mikoto's help) and even longer before his breathing had steadied enough for him to say: "If that's how good you are on your first time I can't wait to see you after a little practice..."

Misaki's sense of bashfulness was finally catching up with him, and he rolled over to hide his face in Mikoto's shoulder shyly. Mikoto chuckled and ran his fingers through his hair.

"W-wait... does that mean we’re gonna do this again...?" Misaki mumbled.

"If you want to," Tatara offered, and Mikoto nodded in concurrence.

"O-of course..."

Tatara grinned. "Then yes, I look forward to it. Now if you gentlemen will excuse me, there's cum leaking down my thigh, so I'm gonna go clean myself up."

As if Misaki needed any more reason to blush.

But to his surprise, once Tatara had hobbled into the bathroom, Mikoto seemed more than content to stay there with Misaki's face nestled against his shoulder. He actually draped his arm around his waist loosely, as though to cuddle him, and when Misaki returned the gesture, wrapping his own around Mikoto’s back, he made no move to push him away. His skin was almost feverishly hot, and Misaki could hear his elevated pulse through his ribs, but it was oddly comforting.

When Tatara returned from the bathroom, he grinned at the sight of them lying in each other’s arms as he shuffled over to the bed, still weak-kneed, and flopped onto the mattress beside them. Mikoto then disentangled himself from Misaki’s embrace and went into the bathroom himself, but almost as soon as Misaki had been released, Tatara had snuggled right up to him, resting his head on the Homra insignia on his chest. There was something so right about how neatly Tatara fit under his arm, and Misaki couldn’t help but smile at the way his breath tickled his skin.

By the time Mikoto returned, Tatara’s breathing had slowed into a steady rhythm, and he seemed to have drifted off to sleep. And to Misaki’s surprise, Mikoto lay down on his other side, sliding his arm around him so Misaki’s head was resting on his shoulder. It was so surreal, lying there between the two lovers; Misaki never in his wildest dreams thought this was something he’d ever get to do. But at the same time, he almost felt like he was intruding.

“I-I should probably head off…” Misaki whispered, not meeting Mikoto’s eyes.

“Stay. It’s late,” Mikoto replied simply. “And Totsuka looks comfy there.”

Misaki smiled weakly. “Y-you’re sure I’m not intruding…?”

“We invited you,” Mikoto pointed out, rubbing his shoulder.

Misaki nodded slowly. As much as he still felt out of place between the two people who loved each other so much, he couldn’t deny that just lying here, the three of them wrapped up together in each other’s embrace, was so soothing. The cool breeze that blew in through the open window played across their overheated skin, and in the peace of the moment as they lay there together, Misaki felt as though everything else had melted away and they were the only three people in the world. The quiet rumble of the traffic drifting into the room seemed muted and distant, even the glow of the streetlights seemed far away. Misaki hadn’t felt this peaceful since before Saruhiko left.

He lay awake for what felt like hours simply listening to the breathing of the two people beside him, long after Mikoto had dropped off. He fought to keep his eyes open, if only to stare at the ceiling in the darkened room, not wanting to succumb to sleep and let this moment slip away.

But eventually, he inevitably drifted off, and woke up again to the weak dawn sunlight spilling in between the half-closed curtains. It took him by surprise all over again to find Mikoto and Tatara either side of him, both of them still asleep- he still hadn’t quite processed what had happened the night before. He didn’t know if he ever would.

He simply lay there for a while, soaking in the warmth of their embrace, but eventually the feeling of being slightly grimy and needing to pee won out- he hadn’t had the heart to wake Tatara so he could get up and clean himself off the night before, but Tatara had since shifted in his sleep so Misaki could escape without disturbing him. He tiptoed into the bathroom, then splashed his face with cold water to clear his head, half-believing all of this had been a dream, but when he wiped his eyes, the bruise on his collarbone was still there. There was a sort of appropriate irony in it- all this had come about because Saruhiko had burned his insignia, and now Misaki had a different sort of wound on his own.

Misaki let out a long sigh as he set about cleaning himself up, trying to slow down his thoughts. He had barely woken up but he was already fighting to wrap his head around last night. But there was a part of him that felt… dissatisfied. As much as what happened had been his every fantasy come true, and the fact it might happen again seemed too good to hope for, at the same time it was… not enough. He felt guilty for feeling that way, but it wasn’t the physical aspect of it that he wanted- he wanted them to feel the same way about him that he felt. He loved the sex, but it was the cuddling that he enjoyed the most, the waking up with them either side of him, the kisses. He was certain it was too much to ask for, but he had a suspicion that as time went on, this seed of hollow dissatisfaction growing in the midst of all this blissful disbelief would grow, and eventually he wouldn’t be able to stomach being in the middle of them anymore, not if he just did his job in the bedroom and then went home to leave them to their love.

And it wasn’t that he felt bitter about the fact they loved each other- they were the happiest couple he’d ever seen and he could never resent them for that. But that didn’t stop the envy bubbling in the pit of his stomach burning like acid- if anything it only made it worse. He wanted to be a part of that so badly, but the knowledge of how slim the chances were of that ever happening was deflating. A part of him had dared to hope for it when he overheard them talking about asking him on a date a few weeks ago; initially, he’d thought he must have dreamt it. Now though, he had a suspicion he’d simply misinterpreted what they’d meant- they must have been talking about this arrangement. Not quite dating, more like… friends with benefits. Which rang sort of hollow for Misaki. It was such a tease, being able to be with them in such an intimate way, but not quite the way he wanted.

Once he’d rinsed the stickiness of the previous night off himself and freshened up with a swig of mouthwash and a spray of the deodorant sitting by the sink (the smell of the scent Mikoto wore clinging to his own skin made Misaki’s heart feel funny), Misaki padded back into the bedroom, where Tatara was still asleep. But Mikoto turned to look at him as he returned, his eyes slightly bleary with sleep, and he patted the spot in the middle of the mattress that Misaki had just vacated. He couldn’t help but feel awkward getting back in between them, but he didn’t want to refuse the request, so he climbed into the bed, freezing as he felt Mikoto wrap his arm around his shoulders. As he got settled, the movement of the mattress seemed to have disturbed Tatara, who rolled over and snuggled up to his side, then let out a yawn and stretched out his legs beneath the blanket. His eyes fluttered half-open, and as he stirred, he kissed Misaki’s cheek sleepily.

“Mornin’…” he mumbled, his voice thick with drowsiness in the most adorable way. Misaki was still half-expecting him to recoil, having realised it was him and not Mikoto he’d kissed, but he made no move to pull away.

“M-morning…” Misaki replied, stuttering over his words as Mikoto followed Tatara’s lead and kissed his other cheek.

Tatara seemed to notice how tense he was instantly, and he propped himself up on his arm to examine Misaki’s face. “Is something wrong?”

Misaki swallowed nervously. “J-just didn’t expect the… affection I guess.”

Tatara tilted his head, encouraging him to elaborate.

“I thought the um… arrangement… was just a sex thing...”

Tatara seemed to have shaken off his drowsiness very quickly, and he covered his mouth with his hand, almost looking guilty. Now it was Misaki’s turn to tilt his head in confusion.

“I’m sorry… I should have explained it better. That wasn’t exactly how I’d planned last night to go, to be perfectly honest. We hadn’t planned to have sex; if I had, I would have… I don’t know, put something sexier on than a sports match and made it more romantic. I would have _bought condoms;_ Mikoto and I don’t use them anymore, but it’s always good practice for a new partner… Sorry, I’m getting off topic. The point is, we’d planned to talk, but things sort of got out of hand… We should have been upfront from the beginning; we shouldn’t have let things get to that stage without being clear with you about where you stood. It’s not sex we want from you. I mean, we do, because you’re very handsome and really rather good, but what I mean is that sex isn’t _all_ we want from you…”

Tatara had started to ramble again by that point, so Mikoto cut in to get to the point: “We want to date you.”

“H-huh?”

“Like, in a polyamorous relationship type thing,” Tatara explained. “All of us being one another’s boyfriends, that sort of thing. I really quite like you; you’re really sweet, and I care about you a lot, and King feels the same way.” He was blushing faintly as he spoke, tentative hope in his eyes as he looked up bashfully through his eyelashes at Misaki. Mikoto was nodding along in agreement with Tatara’s words.

Misaki was silent for a moment, his mouth opening and closing as he floundered for something to say. He was completely dazed, looking between the two of them with wide eyes, struggling to absorb the information. He’d never expected this; not in his wildest dreams would he have thought they could ever _possibly_ feel the same way. His brain simply rejected the information. He couldn’t force it to compute with what he’d thought he’d known before.

Finally, he managed to muster the word: “R-really?”

Tatara was grinning, and a whisper of a smile was curling the corners of Mikoto’s lips.

“Really,” Tatara confirmed. “Will you be our boyfriend?”

“Y-yes! Yes of cou-…” Misaki couldn’t spit the acceptance out fast enough, but before he had chance to finish the sentence, Tatara was kissing him again, having thrown his arms around him and rolled over to lie on Misaki’s chest, giggling as he did so.

Misaki gently rested his hands on Tatara’s waist, almost reverent, but half-afraid he was going to disappear if he held him too tight. The kiss wasn’t heated like the ones last night- there was none of the lust, just… Misaki could barely even comprehend it. It was just affection, joy. If someone had told Misaki a few weeks ago that Tatara would be kissing him like this, cupping his jaw and beaming against his lips, Misaki would have punched whoever said it. And now he almost thought he was dreaming, or hallucinating, or had just plain gone crazy, but he couldn’t be, because Tatara felt so real in his arms, as did the way Misaki’s lips tingled as their kiss finally broke.

He barely had time to gasp for a breath (he’d completely forgotten to breathe since Tatara had asked him out) before Mikoto leaned in and stole a kiss himself. Misaki couldn’t help but freeze in shock for a moment at the contact; he didn’t think he’d ever be prepared for this, didn’t think he’d ever be able to comprehend it, no matter how many times they kissed him. It seemed far far far too good to be true, but it couldn’t be anything else. The warmth of their bodies against his, the pressure of Mikoto’s lips against his own, soft and ever-so-slightly chapped, the tickle of his breath, the goosebumps that rippled out from where Tatara traced patterns with his fingertip on his shoulder… he couldn’t have dreamed this; he never would have _dared_ to dream it. He wasn’t capable of dreaming anything this wonderful and this completely impossible.

When they finally broke apart, Mikoto pecked Tatara on his smiling lips, and then Tatara broke down into a fit of giggles, burying his face in Misaki’s shoulder. Misaki couldn’t help but join him- the whole scenario was so absurd but he was just so overjoyed that he could do nothing to laugh, partly in joy and partly just in sheer shock. He heard Mikoto chuckle quietly along with them as he pressed another soft kiss to Misaki’s temple, and Misaki was suddenly overcome with another surge of emotion- of _privilege._ How many people got to say they’d seen Mikoto, the most reserved person Misaki had ever met, show this kind of happiness or affection? Show this much emotion in general?

When the fit of laughter had died down, Misaki couldn’t help but blurt out: “Thank you...”

“For what?”

“Picking me…”

“We didn’t; we weren’t _looking_ for anyone else, but we spent so much time with you and we just sort of… fell for you I guess.” Tatara giggled again. “It almost has to be fate. It’s too perfect that we all felt like this at the same time; what are the odds?”

“It’s impossible..” Misaki agreed, still reeling. He didn’t think he’d ever quite wrap his head around it.

“Apparently not,” Mikoto pointed out, and there was a moment of quiet before Tatara burst into another fit of giggles.

“I kinda can’t believe it… I’m so happy you said yes,” Tatara murmured, and the genuine way he smiled made Misaki feel like his heart was going to burst. He hoped he never got used to this.

It was strange to think that, ultimately, it had been Saruhiko’s defection that had started all this. If he hadn’t left, Misaki never would have needed Mikoto and Tatara’s support, and maybe they never would have gotten close enough for these feelings to develop. It seemed that Misaki had been right in thinking that a positive outcome of Saruhiko leaving had been the support he received from his clan, but he never would have guessed just how right he’d been. Lying in the arms of the two people he idolised more than anything, so overjoyed he felt like he was dreaming… it was the ultimate silver lining.  


End file.
